MillardAir, the Legacy

[Alethea Dice]

Good catch, Alethea Dice. I went back and checked the email and it was indeed August 2011. That was my bad. Nothing to do with the person who gave it to me, who is indeed unimpeachable, and was interviewed by the police. I've corrected it on my website.

SG was talking about the early/mid 2000s. He couldn't communicate with his sister by email because there was no computer at the house or, according to the Wings article you linked, at the Millardair office.

I think it's fair to say a lot changed in Wayne's life after 2006. His father died, he kicked the booze, EG died, he started a new business. Getting up to speed with technology was almost certainly part of that change.

Thanks, ABro. I had assumed he was talking about the time leading up to when EG died in 2009. FWIW, both SG and AS seemed to think that WM either hadn't given up the booze or had taken up the habit again.

 

[Alethea Dice]

For the record, while AS was not at all fond of DM, he liked and respected Wayne Millard, and said this was one of his reasons for speaking out, because he wanted to see justice done.

<rsbm>

Can I just say, don't you think this was probably exactly the reason he spoke the way he did about DM? He wasn't happy when WM died, or when he lost his contract with MA, didn't like DM to start with, and then DM gets charged with a murder. How people feel about someone reflects what they say. For example, with MS. His friends said he was a sweetheart who would do anything for you and wasn't violent or aggressive. Those who weren't said they stayed away from the house and that several people in the neighbourhood had problems with him.

JMO

 

[SnooperDuper]

<rsbm>

Wayne was always aware of the risks as you can see from this email he wrote in 2010: http://www.annrbrocklehurst.com/201...bout-the-millardair-kitchener-operations.html

<snip>

See what I read is

a series of good coincident
it seemed like an angel was causing some things to happen
more good fortune
practically begged
offered unheard of conditions
it’s really good
Another piece of good luck
downwind sailing
The unknown…is whether we will get the customers we need.

I think WM was taken for a ride. You don't have to do anything, honest, just show up with the money.

The Region wants to develop the East Lands, which is the east side of the Grand river, particularly the part from the airport to Toyota. You have the 401 and CN rail lines in this area and if the airport was developed further this would be a very appealing industrial area.

Transport Canada in 2011 issued a report claiming that in a decade and a half YFK would go from handling 110k passengers/year to 7M passengers a year. http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/new-airport-may-be-needed-in-southern-ont-report-1.669303 I want some of what those guys were smoking.

I know the airport got some funding to do the runways; they had no justification to ask for the upgrades they got at that time except that the MA MRO required them. Waterloo was for the longest time just a little recreational airport. It is in the airport's business plan that they want to develop in order to support future industry in the East Lands. Realistically they still need a few more amendments, like lengthening the main runway.

So between TC and YFK and the Region's desires, WM was told some incredible story. MA's success doesn't mean a whit to them as long as they have the infrastructure built. See now I'm blaming the government for MA's demise. Next on the list is Jim Balsillie, who asked people to think of Waterloo as big enough for a hockey team, but too close to toronto to get one. Seriously, JB did a lot of marketing of the Region. I guess now that we have such a thing as the GTHA (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) it has been decided that Hamilton, not Waterloo Region, will be the recipient of Toronto's spillover.

 

[ABro]

Carl and Wayne had fought plenty of well documented battles against Transport Canada. Wayne was involved in a legal action because he didn't want to leave Pearson.

He was not some naïf suckered by the KW airport or AS.

He was also not a guy with any track record running a business. So it's entirely feasible he made the wrong high-risk decision. That doesn't mean someone else is to blame.

 

[hopingforjustice]

Strange how one story goes relatively unheard-of! I don't recall hearing about this young girl at all.

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This case was huge news in the KW area for a very long time. I could post a link but there are many. Simply Search Erin Howlett on google and you will find many to read regarding the discovery of her body and the search to find her killer.

 

[Sillybilly]

Strange how one story goes relatively unheard-of! I don't recall hearing about this young girl at all.

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We have a thread for Erin:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215485&highlight=Howlett

 

[SnooperDuper]

Carl and Wayne had fought plenty of well documented battles against Transport Canada. Wayne was involved in a legal action because he didn't want to leave Pearson.

He was not some naïf suckered by the KW airport or AS.

He was also not a guy with any track record running a business. So it's entirely feasible he made the wrong high-risk decision. That doesn't mean someone else is to blame.

Then, the most influential person would be WM old friend JB, who is in the business of setting up MRO's. Hey Wayne, heard YYZ paid you $2M, do I have an investment opportunity for you...

Instead of walking away from YYZ with $1.4M in his pocket...he spent $6M, $6.4M, $8M?

And then, if he takes full responsibility for his decisions, seeing what he has done, it makes sense that he might take his own life.

 

[SnooperDuper]

EG, WM's gf dies. WM cleans up his act. MA leaves YYZ and WM becomes $1.4M richer. WM runs into old buddies, one of the Skyservice 4. The SS4 are unemployed maintenance workers. SS4 suggest WM invest the money he got from the YYZ hangar into building a maintenance facility, at which the maintenance workers will work. They hire a salesman, AS. AS works for 18 months trying to sell airlines and banks on maintenance based in Breslau. In fact a year in, MA needs a signed contract to get any more money out of the bank, the facility is unfinished, there is no market for it and WM starts drinking again. Costs have soared: the Globe reports later, to $8M. How deep are WM's pockets? Is it possible the family coffers have been drained, because the bank won't pitch in any more money? Does WM feel overwhelmed, unable to sort this out in his lifetime, and take his life?

Did DM steal a truck because honestly, there wasn't any spare money around? The days of living large were over. Is DM actually naive about money, using it to buy friends and spending it like one of those $50M lotto winners that find themselves broke only years later? Does DM feel betrayed and taken advantage of by the SS4 or AS or WM?

Who won in this? Well Waterloo international, once it extends its runway all the way to Kossuth rd, can take anything Toronto can take. The only thing they don't have is hangers. All of the SS4 list the MA MRO on their resume because they fulfilled their tasks and did what they promised to do.

AS is on the hot seat because he is the sales guy and every can blame him. And DM and WM are having money problems.

JMO, that's how I think things worked out, and I think WM took his own life. He crashed and burned that bad.

 

[Snoofo]

EG, WM's gf dies. WM cleans up his act. MA leaves YYZ and WM becomes $1.4M richer. WM runs into old buddies, one of the Skyservice 4. The SS4 are unemployed maintenance workers. SS4 suggest WM invest the money he got from the YYZ hangar into building a maintenance facility, at which the maintenance workers will work. They hire a salesman, AS. AS works for 18 months trying to sell airlines and banks on maintenance based in Breslau. In fact a year in, MA needs a signed contract to get any more money out of the bank, the facility is unfinished, there is no market for it and WM starts drinking again. Costs have soared: the Globe reports later, to $8M. How deep are WM's pockets? Is it possible the family coffers have been drained, because the bank won't pitch in any more money? Does WM feel overwhelmed, unable to sort this out in his lifetime, and take his life?

Did DM steal a truck because honestly, there wasn't any spare money around? The days of living large were over. Is DM actually naive about money, using it to buy friends and spending it like one of those $50M lotto winners that find themselves broke only years later? Does DM feel betrayed and taken advantage of by the SS4 or AS or WM?

Who won in this? Well Waterloo international, once it extends its runway all the way to Kossuth rd, can take anything Toronto can take. The only thing they don't have is hangers. All of the SS4 list the MA MRO on their resume because they fulfilled their tasks and did what they promised to do.

AS is on the hot seat because he is the sales guy and every can blame him. And DM and WM are having money problems.

JMO, that's how I think things worked out, and I think WM took his own life. He crashed and burned that bad.

No matter how much I may play devil's advocate, I will not be shocked out of my seat if DM is found guilty of the murder of TB but I would be very shocked if it is somehow found that WM did not commit suicide. There was a combination of volatile factors that could very much lead to suicide and if you aren't exactly right in your speculations Snooper, then I'd say you're pretty darn close. Thanks for putting so much thought into this part of the story it's been interesting.!

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[Alethea Dice]

Who won in this? Well Waterloo international, once it extends its runway all the way to Kossuth rd, can take anything Toronto can take. The only thing they don't have is hangers. All of the SS4 list the MA MRO on their resume because they fulfilled their tasks and did what they promised to do.

AS is on the hot seat because he is the sales guy and every can blame him. And DM and WM are having money problems.

JMO, that's how I think things worked out, and I think WM took his own life. He crashed and burned that bad.

<rsbm>

If I'm reading this right, didn't they try to get the hangar too by releasing the lease? But they were turned down because MA objected.

In 2011, council approved a 50-year land lease with Millard Properties for about $19,000 a year, depending on final hangar design. Regional government has refused to release the lease, citing objections from Millard’s lawyer. Lease rates are standard for airport land and increase with the cost of living. Millardair paid a further $372,000 as its share of servicing costs for airport land.

http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/3244013-public-cash-supported-failed-hangar-plan/

I also would be very surprised if it was found that WM didn't take his own life. Regardless of how guilty DM is for TB's murder.

JMO

 

[Snoofo]

<rsbm>

If I'm reading this right, didn't they try to get the hangar too by releasing the lease? But they were turned down because MA objected.



http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/3244013-public-cash-supported-failed-hangar-plan/

I also would be very surprised if it was found that WM didn't take his own life. Regardless of how guilty DM is for TB's murder.

JMO

Yes. We don't know why they tried to terminate the lease - what did MA do to constitute a default? Honestly it could be failure by MA to do just about anything it was obligated to do under the lease and typically 50 year leases are lengthy and detailed. Now, for the airport to try to terminate a lease for a property housing a brand new 6+ million dollar property that hadn't really been used is what I would call extremely ballsy, if you will pardon the expression. They could not have expected anything less than objections by MA's lawyers. Wow, how nice for the airport to be able to lease a brand spanking new hangar built by someone else. It may all be coincidence but it really does kinda stink.

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[SnooperDuper]

Yes. We don't know why they tried to terminate the lease - what did MA do to constitute a default? Honestly it could be failure by MA to do just about anything it was obligated to do under the lease and typically 50 year leases are lengthy and detailed. Now, for the airport to try to terminate a lease for a property housing a brand new 6+ million dollar property that hadn't really been used is what I would call extremely ballsy, if you will pardon the expression. They could not have expected anything less than objections by MA's lawyers. Wow, how nice for the airport to be able to lease a brand spanking new hangar built by someone else. It may all be coincidence but it really does kinda stink.

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There is a sample lease in the FBO RFP http://www.waterlooairport.ca/en/abouttheairport/resources/Request-for-Proposal-FBO-YKF-Airport.pdf....the lease can be terminated if the tenant fails to start or complete their project.

 

[SnooperDuper]

If anyone is doing any digging, if you haven't figured it out yet, Waterloo is a 2-tier municipality. The bottom tier is the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and the towns Breslau (airport), Ayr (farm), North Dumfries, etc. The upper tier is the Region of Waterloo. For info on the airport you would go to the Region's website because the airport is in Breslau.

Although the Region has spent a lot on the airport, they have also gotten a lot of funding from the provincial and federal government. E.g., if the Region applies to the federal ACAP program it is awarded money that "the Region" in turn spends. Since the airport is running a deficit it is eligible for every funding program out there.

Blackberry, who was the the largest employer out of all the cities and towns in the Region, had 3 Dassault Falcon jets and sold them to get a Bombardier Global Express jet...I wonder if the Blackberry plane upgrade was at all related to the need to develop the runways, or if Blackberry ever did use the Waterloo airport. Basillie was pretty ballsy too.

 

[Alethea Dice]

There is a sample lease in the FBO RFP http://www.waterlooairport.ca/en/abouttheairport/resources/Request-for-Proposal-FBO-YKF-Airport.pdf....the lease can be terminated if the tenant fails to start or complete their project.

Does that not only mean if the tenant fails to start or complete the construction of the project? Then it says "substantially completed" shall have the same meaning as the definition under Section 2 of the Construction Lien Act. The Construction Lien Act states...

2. (1) For the purposes of this Act, a contract is substantially performed,

(a) when the improvement to be made under that contract or a substantial part thereof is ready for use or is being used for the purposes intended;
.....

The had completed the construction, just couldn't get any customers. And they were in discussions about a different use that would be acceptable to the airport.

JMO

 

[swedie]

No matter how much I may play devil's advocate, I will not be shocked out of my seat if DM is found guilty of the murder of TB but I would be very shocked if it is somehow found that WM did not commit suicide. There was a combination of volatile factors that could very much lead to suicide and if you aren't exactly right in your speculations Snooper, then I'd say you're pretty darn close. Thanks for putting so much thought into this part of the story it's been interesting.!

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Although some of these points do make reasonable sense to an extent, are we to believe WM never dealt with other highly stressful situations in his 72 years of life where suicide seemed an easy out? Especially all those years of working with his father in the industry and seeing all sorts of failures or endings to what once seemed so promising.

Why would he leave his only beloved son in such a horrible state financially and mentally, to struggle with on his own? Such a selfish decision wasn't it? He didn't get to that age and success he achieved by making bad decisions. Of course this "could have" been the first. Suicide does not seem to fit into the traits of WM from some of the information we have gleaned of him through others and according to DM who reflected on his father in his obituary. WM must have been optimistic otherwise why would he have taken on this huge project at such a late time in his life especially knowing DM wasn't interested and showed no interest. Even his own grandfather acknowledge DM wasn't showing interest. Although he called it Dellen's project, It really was Wayne's project. I imagine Wayne just hoped he lived long enough to see to it that MA's newest business became successful in which he could leave to Dellen, leaving him in a financial and well established state that all DM needed to to was just be there. By claiming it was Dellen's project was a somewhat boastful way of bringing recognition to his son and the rationale (to himself, others working within the hangar and future employees) for having Dellen hanging around the hangar; justification for Dellen being there doing much of nothing other then his own personal interests.

Had WM been so desperate to put an end to something he had no idea what the final outcome would be (but he seemed so optimistic), as this business was just starting out, again does not make sense. Anyone who is business suave (WM had many years of it and so had his father who WM was closely involved working together in business) knows these things take time to get off the ground. Why wouldn't WM not just take a plane up and crash it somewhere making it look like an accidental death instead of causing such pain to those who meant so much to him (namely DM)? IF WM did commit suicide, something transpired hours prior to WM taking his life that night. Something out of desperation IMHO. Why leave his and CM's legacy this way? Not to mention an investigation by LE which "could have" (and it may happen) left his son charged with murder if no logical explanation for suicide was found but circumstantial evidence of murder found. For someone who was known to be so private, why suicide and then leave his son to bear that cross, answer to or even having to justify to himself why he father chose that way out? I for one am not ready to close this chapter of possible murder until further information (hopefully by LE) comes forward to prove otherwise. I believe LE had reasonable grounds for reopening WM's death case. Thanks to those who are sleuthing to try and show or justify the theory of why WM may have committed suicide. I do appreciate it and as I said these points do make sense to an extent. All JMO.

He was patient and stubborn. He was frugal with himself and generous to others.
For Father piloting wasn't just his job, it was his freedom.

See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?pid=161695472#fbLoggedOut

Was WM trying to follow in his father's footsteps even very late in life? I believe WM was much more involved and serious about business than what has been reported. It's just opportunity didn't come to him in this way until later in life. CM seemed to be more "in your face" while his sone WM was a private person. It wasn't really all about DM as WM let on; more so I think he used DM's name calling it DM's project, an excuse for fulfilling his own dream before he expired and without looking greedy or self absorbed and he had to leave his estate and business to someone when he eventually expired. But again, that's JMO.

when Carl Millard does something &#8211; people still take notice and talk about it. And as for how long he plans to be around, he says that his current space lease runs out in 2011. Carl states flatly that if he does not like what is happening at Pearson then, he can always pick his hangars up and move them somewhere else. And knowing the man involved &#8211; he is fully capable of doing it too!

http://www.wingsmagazine.com/content/view/2477/

 

[SnooperDuper]

Although some of these points do make reasonable sense to an extent, are we to believe WM never dealt with other highly stressful situations in his 72 years of life where suicide seemed an easy out? Especially all those years of working with his father in the industry and seeing all sorts of failures or endings to what once seemed so promising.

<rsbm>

The thing is, WM did not spend all those years working with CW. He worked with CW up to the age of 24, and then he was on to Air Canada, Canada 3000 and his save the animals projects. He only became an accidental businessman in 2006, when CM died, and at that point I would say he was a rookie at this kind of endeavour.

Personally I have always held the bias that there was no money. That is, WM blew the family fortune, saw the spectre of bankruptcy and losing his hangar and being left with nothing....that is a hell of a lot to deal with and if you are nearing the last years of your life it is easy to feel your life is over.

I don't get where people get the idea that the M's had boundless quantities of cash. They lived in an ordinary house, in an ordinary neighbourhood, drove ordinary vehicles. Cf. DP has a Hummer, a Maserati, a Lamborghini and multi-million-dollar French chateau-style mansion (with indoor pool).

Additionally I don't get where the image of DM as a sophisticated, well educated, wealthy playboy has come from. He only owns one suit, a Hugo Boss (who was a German Nazi who designed and manufactured the uniforms for the Nazi SS). If he was really in the know, he would not be wearing Hugo Boss as the label has become quite gauche because of the brand's proven Nazi collaboration. He only has a high school education, and his father blew the family fortune so he's not wealthy either. ???

MA has been described as a dynasty, and empire, etc. when in reality it was fading away, no more than an FBO before WM took on the MRO project (maintenance being an area where he has no expertise).

 

[Alethea Dice]

<rsbm>

The thing is, WM did not spend all those years working with CW. He worked with CW up to the age of 24, and then he was on to Air Canada, Canada 3000 and his save the animals projects. He only became an accidental businessman in 2006, when CM died, and at that point I would say he was a rookie at this kind of endeavour.

Personally I have always held the bias that there was no money. That is, WM blew the family fortune, saw the spectre of bankruptcy and losing his hangar and being left with nothing....that is a hell of a lot to deal with and if you are nearing the last years of your life it is easy to feel your life is over.

<rsbm>

Jumping off your post to add to it.

Yes, and it's been said that by the time CM died, MA wasn't much of a business, more of a hobby for CM. Also, I think by the time WM died, he knew exactly what the final outcome of his investment was going to be.

JMO

 

[Snoofo]

<rsbm>

Jumping off your post to add to it.

Yes, and it's been said that by the time CM died, MA wasn't much of a business, more of a hobby for CM. Also, I think by the time WM died, he knew exactly what the final outcome of his investment was going to be.

JMO

Yes and that would be quite the epiphany. The crawl into a deep hole and die kind. Poor guy.

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[hopingforjustice]

<rsbm>



I don't get where people get the idea that the M's had boundless quantities of cash. They lived in an ordinary house, in an ordinary neighbourhood, drove ordinary vehicles. Cf. DP has a Hummer, a Maserati, a Lamborghini and multi-million-dollar French chateau-style mansion (with indoor pool).


MA has been described as a dynasty, and empire, etc. when in reality it was fading away, no more than an FBO before WM took on the MRO project (maintenance being an area where he has no expertise).

I completely agree and have said the same thing myself all along.

Which begs the question...IF this is true, does the "chop shop" scenario not make a lot of sense? I believe he wanted that truck and against common belief he was not affluent enough to just write a cheque for what he wanted anymore.

JMO

 

[Snoofo]

Does anybody know if WM's execs had MRO expertise?

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